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After Thursday’s late goal, every Rangers fan went into the Old Firm game full of confidence and believed this side could win and win well. Even more so given the two victories at Ibrox against Celtic last season.

But as 11 o’clock came around and I saw Steven Gerrard ’s starting line-up all of that confidence and belief evaporated in an instant. Still, at this point I don’t quite get why he tried to flood the midfield with five in there and show them so much respect.

I can understand why he started with Jermain Defoe over Alfredo Morelos, but given the game-plan of being so passive and sitting so deep that the defence were almost outside sitting on Copland Road, it was wrong. All wrong. Even bringing Sheyi Ojo on before Jordan Jones was wrong.

In fact, he should have changed things at half-time. There was no need to back the dead-horse set-up. Change it and change the gameplan; press higher and go after them.

It was absolutely baffling. Celtic had three Old Firm debutants in their defence and the other is a defensive midfielder by trade, yet Gerrard doesn’t start with Jones to test Hatem Elhamed and Boli Bolingoli. Joe Aribo has started every one of his Rangers appearances in central midfield, and Gerrard moves him further forward, asking him to play behind Defoe in this one. Why? Maybe he was trying to be clever and out-think Neil Lennon but it was a complete failure on his part. He knows exactly how to get at this Celtic team and did the exact opposite.

(Image: Daily Record)

Tactics and set-ups aside, no matter what tactics, shape and gameplan are deployed by the management, the players have to do their part. And every single one of the players was a mile off it. They didn’t win enough 50-50s, they were so poor at picking up second balls and Gerrard for all his faults on the day cannot legislate for Celtic’s press forcing Connor Goldson into an elementary mistake – he should be firing the ball up the line instead of trying to play out from that situation.

They let themselves down because they are better than that performance; the fans know it, they know it themselves and the manager should know it too.

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Fair play to Lennon, though, we had all written him off, and while Gerrard had a tactical nightmare, he got his game-plan spot on. For one, he had his defence well protected, limiting Rangers, meaning they basically created nothing. His team set out to take the crowd out of the game early on by using the clock and taking their time over every goal kick, throw in, you name it, they took their time over it.

They pressed and forced the mistake for the first goal and from then on out their game management was really impressive – really frustrating and utterly annoying, but impressive nevertheless.

For Rangers and the manager it will be an afternoon of regrets; an afternoon where everything went wrong and an afternoon when everyone realised this Celtic team are by no means wonderful, but they aren’t as bad as some Rangers fans, myself included, make out. Having said that, even in victory, this Celtic side are very much there to be got at, and the fact Gerrard didn’t see it like that was the biggest frustration of the Rangers performance.

I’m gutted at the result and performance, but it’s only September and nothing is won or lost just yet. Ideally, Rangers would have won this match and went into the break in high spirits, but it wasn’t to be on the day. And frankly they didn’t deserve anything from the game.

We’ve praised this team for going right to the end and grinding out results so far this season, but now we will see what stuff they are really made of when they have to recover from this setback.

As for Gerrard, let’s hope he doesn’t ever do that again. He will feel his side have made big steps forward but this defeat is, without doubt, a missed opportunity to lay down a marker and get in front and everything that could go wrong did; as it is, Rangers are chasing, again.

(Image: Rangers FC/Press Association Images)

However, in reaction to that the board showed Gerrard and the fans the colour of their money by stumping up £7million to bring Ryan Kent home. It was unfortunate that he wasn’t playing at Ibrox on Sunday but we now are bringing a player in who can add an extra dimension to the team, but not only that, Celtic are scared of him, their fans won’t admit it but they are, hence why they are asking where the money is coming from.

That psychological edge is worth more than any amount of goals and assists. And at the end of the season the £7m will prove to be worth every penny on that basis alone.

Celtic may have won the battle on Sunday but it’s forced Rangers to tool up and get ready to win the war. Rangers can’t play as badly going forward as they did on Sunday and that’s a positive.

The Kent signing is the perfect pick-me-up and Rangers get ready to go again.